


Stars and Sand

by SangriaKisses



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff, ShikaTem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 10:59:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21373042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SangriaKisses/pseuds/SangriaKisses
Summary: "Someday, I just want to marry a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter is married and my son becomes successful, and spend the rest of my life playing Shogi or Go."-Shikamaru NaraShikamaru had always wanted to live an easy and average life.  How does one Sand Princess fit into that goal?
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru & Temari, Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Kudos: 47





	Stars and Sand

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dear readers! I'm not sure where this came from and honestly how it got so long but I've always loved that Shikamaru wanted an easy and average life and he ended up marrying Temari. 
> 
> Some notes:  
Temari might be a little OOC but I love writing her as a little insecure and unsure. She's human and feelings can humble a person. 
> 
> There are flashbacks as indicated by italics.
> 
> Other than that hope you enjoy it!

Shikamaru stood up, twisting at the waist to stretch. He’d been sitting for far too long pouring over paperwork and translating scrolls. His blonde partner took off her glasses rubbing at her eyes.

“I think we should probably call it a night and pick it up tomorrow.” He recommended and she nodded beginning to gather her things. They’d worked together for a while now but he felt as though he knew very little about her. At first, she was so skittish and seemed scared of him. Thankfully she’d calmed down and they worked well together. She didn’t force him to talk more than necessary, she was smart and a hard worker.

“Wanna get a bite to eat?” He asked trying to remember if he ate lunch or not but remembered that Temari had stormed in with her usual fanfare and handed him his packed lunch that he’d forgotten to grab.

Shiho looked surprised by the invitation her face flushing bright red.

“Temari wouldn’t mind?”

“Why would she mind?”

Shiho still looked unsure but nodded “Uh… yes, I would like that.”

“I’ll see you at the front in 5 minutes.”

“Okay!” She replied excitedly clumsily toppling a tower of books in her excitement.

“I’ll get that tomorrow!”

He just chuckled and shook his head. Women were weird and despite being older he still didn’t quite understand them.

He made his way down the hall hearing the familiar sounds of a storm brewing. He stood in the doorway watching as he liked to call her his “Hericane” berated a Chunin about his lack of motivation, initiative and worried for the future of the Leaf if he was truly the best they had to offer.

“Come on Mari lay off the kid.” She turned those stormy eyes towards him and while still frightening didn’t fill him with the same dread as they once had.

“Lay off?” She asked confused by the statement. Shikamaru couldn’t help but love the cute look of confusion on her face. The Chunin was smart enough to take this opportunity to jump out of harm's way through the window.

He just chuckled at the incredulous look on her face as she mumbled ‘soft’ under her breath.

“Anyways Shiho and I are going to get something to eat. Wanna come?” She stood there in stunned silence and he feared that he had invited the storm into the tiny office.

“You and Shiho are going to go get something to eat _tonight_?”

“Yes…” He wondered why she was repeating his previous statement.

“She seems like a nice girl. We’ve worked together but I haven’t gotten to know her, I figured that this would be a chance to. You heard my mom the other night, all that nonsense about settling down, hopefully, this will get her off my back if she sees I’m trying to meet people. Besides I’ve told you all about my goals for the future feels like she’d fit into that role nicely.” He explained half-jokingly hoping it would help the confusion.

Temari shut her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll pass. Have a nice dinner.”

With no other explanation, she began to organize and sort her work grabbing her bag to make her exit. He wasn’t quite sure why but there was a weird feeling in the air. He grabbed her arm before she could leave. “I’ll see you at home okay?”

She refused to meet his gaze. “Yea, okay.” He watched her rush down the hall part of him wanting to run after her and ask what was wrong. He knew that she would only berate him for worrying so instead he watched her walk away.

Once some time had passed he made his way towards the entrance to meet Shiho she greeted him with a bright smile and they fell into step with one another.

“Where should we go?”

“I’m okay with anything, you pick.” That was odd. The women in his life, his mom, Ino, Temari, they typically told him where to go and he just fell in line.

“Ramen?” It seemed like a safe enough choice.

“Sure!” They walked to Ichiraku in silence and while he preferred that to idle chit chat it felt awkward and uncomfortable. Temari by this point would have told him all about the level of incompetence and idiots that she had to deal with during the day. He’d tell her that she was too hard on them and she’d call him weak. Then they would trade verbal barbs with one another before falling into a fit of laughter followed by companionable silence. It was routine, familiar and he enjoyed it.

He knew that Shiho was more subdued and quiet by nature but it almost seemed as though she was worried to say anything to avoid making him upset. She opened up a little more at the ramen shop and she told him about her history and experience. She was intelligent and excelled at what she did but she seemed very insecure and unsure about herself. She didn’t flaunt her skills or accolades more than necessary often minimizing what she did. She didn’t make fun of him or criticize anything he told her even if he probably deserved it. She was to the core a very kind, agreeable woman and it left him a little on edge.

Was this what it was like to have a woman in your life who was kind and supportive? Temari, of course, showed that she cared in her own violent/ aggressive way. Shiho though, in what little encounters they had placed him on a pedestal and it seemed in her eyes he could do no wrong. She was overly complimentary over the littlest things. He’d imagined that this was what he wanted for himself versus the constant nagging but this was even more uncomfortable. She would never push him to do more, to strive for greatness. Waving off her compliments was more exhausting than having Temari nag him for being lazy, although she did that far less now.

_They were sitting on the roof of the Nara home star gazing. _

_“You’ve grown up Shika.” He grinned looking towards Temari where she was sitting up looking at the sky. _

_“You think so?” _

_“Yes, you’ve become the Shinobi and person that I always knew you could be even while you were crying in that hospital waiting room.” _

_That compliment coming from her was paramount and filled him with an immense sense of pride. _

_“Thank you, Mari.” She nodded knowing that they needed very few words between them. She laid down next to him settling against his chest, his arm wrapping around her in familiarity fitting perfectly against him. _

_“Tell me about the constellations again.” He requested shutting his eyes. She’d told him all about her enjoyment of stargazing back in Suna and he found that he enjoyed it just as much as cloud watching. He smiled to himself, her warm familiar voice telling him stories about the stars. _

_Temari looked up feeling his breath steady and realizing that he’d fallen asleep. She smiled and kissed his cheek softly loving the look of peace and contentment on his face. _

_“I love you.” She whispered her confession to the stars. _

Shikamaru walked Shiho home staring up at the stars before making his way back towards the Nara compound carrying some take out for Temari. He figured that she probably ate or his mother made her something, still though he figured that she would appreciate the gesture and he kind of missed her. Hopefully, she’d be up for a game of Shogi before bed.

“What the hell did you do?” He was surprised to see Yoshino standing at the doorway fuming.

“What do you mean?”

“Temari left, she packed up her room and left.”

It took him a moment before his voice returned.

“Left?”

“Yes, as in she’s gone.”

“Where did she go?”

She sighed frustrated. “I don’t know, that’s why I am asking you. What did you do?”

“Nothing, I saw her after work, I asked her if she wanted to get something to eat with me and Shiho and she said no. I told her I'd see her here.” He stared at the empty room that was devoid of anything related to the Sand Kunoichi.

Yoshino rubbed her temples fighting the urge to smack the stupid out of her son.

“You asked her if she wanted to get something to eat with you and another girl _tonight_?”

“Yes.”

Yoshino stared at him with wide eyes. “Are you stupid?”

“What?”

“Oh my goodness. The regaled strategist of the great shinobi war knows nothing about women.” She cried, throwing her hands into the air.

“What are you going on about? You told me to start getting serious about settling down and finding a wife and I told her that. I figured that this is a step in the right direction.”

“I meant that in regards to Temari!”

“Temari?”

“Yes! Are you that dense? I won’t accept this Shiho woman or another woman as the future matriarch of the Nara clan.”

“But you’ll accept Temari?”

“Of course. I thought that this was what you were working towards as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“You spend all your free time together on top of work. She stays here during the weekends, she’s worked with me on top-secret Nara research, she’s met almost 90% of the clan. You gave her access to the clan forest. I mean she wears your old clan shirts to bed. I assumed that you’ve been grooming her to fit into that role.”

“No...no that wasn’t what I was doing ...at least not intentionally.”

“Did you honestly forget that you two had plans tonight? She was so excited about it too.”

_“Next Friday night okay? Don’t forget.” Temari reminded him pushing a finger forcefully against his chest. _

_He just waved off her concerns. “I won’t forget. Besides Fridays are and have been our nights why would I forget all of a sudden?” _

_She worried her bottom lip unsure but nodded. “Just wanted to make sure. Don’t disappoint me.” She demanded leveling him with a look. _

_“Troublesome woman. I won’t, come on lay down and relax, will you. I need to sleep.” She sighed but returned to her spot next to him and his arms wrapped comfortably around her. His face resting against the back of her neck inhaling the familiar scent. And he felt himself relax into the bed her presence in his arms grounding him. She had immediately sunk into his touch and settled feeling safe and at peace._

_ “Good night Mari.”_

_ “Good night Shika."_

Shikamaru felt himself pale at the memory. How could he have forgotten?

“You need to figure this out. Do you like this Shiho girl?”

He shrugged trying to process all this information. “I mean...she’s fine. She’s nice, pretty enough I guess. She doesn’t nag me like the two of you do. Life with her would be easy.”

“As opposed to being with Temari?”

“There is no with Temari.”

Yoshino sighed and shook her head. “Then it’s settled.” She turned away from him frustrated and disappointed.

It was one dinner it wasn’t as though he was planning on proposing to Shiho. He knew that she had a crush on him, it was pretty obvious and he hoped that she didn’t think that it was anything more than a friendly dinner. Even more so he hoped that Temari didn’t think that it was any more than a friendly dinner.

He laid down on the bed her sheets still smelling like the wind and the rain remembering how wonderful and familiar it was now to wake up with her next to him. Life with Temari wouldn’t be easy she would nag him, force him to stop sleeping in and work. They would stay up late at night playing shogi because she was stubborn and wouldn’t admit defeat. They would spend afternoons cloud watching and nights stargazing. She would be difficult and demanding and they would probably argue a lot, but even so, he knew that he would be happy with her. She’d push him to be better than he thought he could be. She would help him achieve goals and dreams beyond anything he could have imagined alone. They would laugh and cry together and experience all the joys and tragedies life had to offer. They would be very happy together.

He thought about his life with Shiho, he was sure that they could also have a pretty happy life together as well. She would probably do anything that he asked. She’d never expect more out of him. He wondered whether she’d cloud watch with him. She mentioned that she was allergic to grass so that might not work out. She was kind and smart so Shogi could still be fun with her. Like he’d told his mother, life together would be easy, they’d have two kids, he’d retire once his daughter married and his son became a fine Shinobi and he’d die before her. He could be as simple and as lazy as he wanted to be. Shiho fit into his original plans perfectly and yet it left him feeling sad and unfulfilled. He thought he wanted easy, he thrived in that and yet the idea of hurricanes and winds made him so much happier. So he decided to chase those storms.

Temari wasn’t surprised when he showed up at her place. She was sure that his mother when she found her room abandoned had become upset and demanded he find her. She needed to take her key back.

“Why did you leave?”

She shrugged refusing to look him in the eye. “I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to stay there. Please tell your mom that I appreciate her hospitality. Here are all your clan things. It wouldn’t be right for me to keep any of it.” She handed him a box that had all her Nara clan paraphernalia. Shirts, a stuffed deer, a necklace. They’d even gifted her a fan with the clan symbol emblazoned on it. It hurt packing those things as she not only lost him but an entire family that she had grown to love and care for. She’d selfishly kept a deer looking onesie that an older clan woman had given her as a joke.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck frustrated. “Temari, please, what’s going on.”

“You made your choice Shika and it’s not me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Shiho, she’s what you want isn’t she, she’s the perfect person to fit into the future you imagined as you said. I’m messy, demanding and stubborn. I’ll make life much more difficult for you. All I’ve ever wanted for you was to just be happy. For a while, I thought that I could do that but you don’t want happy, you want easy and that’s not who I am and I’ll never be that person. I was going to tell you tonight to see if maybe we could be something more. Foolish right?“ She very lightly kissed him just wanting to see what it would be like but she felt her heartbreak at the gentle touch. Shikamaru wasn’t hers and he never would be. For as much as she wanted to be his, he’d told her time again his dreams for the future and she didn’t fit into those plans. It was time to accept it.

“I have to thank you though. The last few months with you have been some of the best I've ever had. Being part of the Clan, having Yoshino nag and coddle me like I was her daughter. Having you sitting across the dinner table, then lying together watching the stars. Waking up next to each other. It was almost like _I_ was the person you’d dreamed of and that I fit into the future that you’d imagined. I was just kidding myself and seeing something that wasn’t there. Shika, be happy, live your life to the fullest and live it out as the very person I know that you are.” The tears in her eyes made them glitter and his heart was breaking in his chest. How could he have messed this up so badly? He felt like she was slipping through his fingers like sand.

“You’re right. You’re nothing that I ever wanted for myself. But that was when I was younger and didn’t know what I wanted in life. I wanted simple and easy but now it’s changed. I want you and whatever that means.” He felt desperate, like trying to hold onto the wind in his hands.

She just shook her head stepping away from him refusing to believe that his mind could change so easily. He was a planner and strategist at heart. He didn’t just make decisions following a whim. “You can’t mean that.”

“I do. Mari, you’re right the last few months, well if it's any indication of what our life might be then I want that, it’s been so easy. I want to wake up next to you before the madness of the morning begins and we’re trying to eat breakfast and get our kid dressed so that he can get to school but he’s just like me so he’ll be slow and lazy about it. I want to cloud watch with you then stargaze. I want to argue and fight even if it's just to make up after. I want all this because it’s with you and in the end, _you_ are everything I want. Even when I didn’t realize it, I was trying to make this feel like home. To make it so wonderful and complete that you’d never want to leave.” He used his thumb to brush a stray tear away swearing that she would never cry because of him again.

“I fell in love with this place in the same way I fell in love with you. You became home to me. And this afternoon I felt like I was seeing it all being taken away from me. Shika you have to be sure. Not even just a few hours ago you were out with her to see if you could settle down with her. I won’t be a second choice or have you accept me because that’s what your clan and your mom wants. I chose you a long time ago but I don’t think that you felt that way about me despite all the things we’ve been through and how much closer we’ve become. I’ve just been a troublesome woman in your eyes.” He didn’t like seeing her so insecure and unsure. He knew that he had messed up and how much it affected her was jarring.

He gathered her into his arms clutching her against his chest. Her hands went to latch onto his vest holding onto him tightly, grounding herself, trying to prevent more tears from falling. Maybe if she held onto him tight enough she’d never have to let him go.

“I was looking for the easy way out. I never let myself dream that you could be mine so I pushed away any thoughts and hopes of a future together. Mari, I’m so sorry. Of course, I want and choose you. You’re the only one. My goals and dreams for myself are so small but with you they’re limitless. You make me feel like I can accomplish anything. In the best versions of my future and myself, you are there. The only thing that was troublesome about you was my feelings for you and not being able to do anything about them. I just...I didn’t realize that you felt the same. I figured that one day you’d realize that you were wasting your time with me here and you’d go back to Suna and marry some rich, powerful Lord that was worthy of you. You’re an actual Princess. All I have is my heart, some deer, and a nagging mom, I don’t know if that’s enough for you.”

“It always has been.” She kissed him fiercely, possessively and with all the love she had for him and to her delight he responded just as fiercely. She could feel the weight of his words in his kiss and that he was finally allowing himself to hold onto something that he’d believed for so long was out of his reach.

He kissed her along the shell of her ear sending delightful shivers down her spine. “I love you, Mari, I have for a long time and I’m sorry that I didn’t realize it sooner.”

“Even your feelings are lazy.” She teased him before kissing him once again softly. She knew that this was going to be something that she’d never get tired of doing.

“I love you too Shika.”

“So what did you have planned for us tonight?” He asked after they’d spend a good amount of the night sharing lazy loving kisses.

“It was stupid.”

“Hey, I’m sorry I forgot. Nothing you do is stupid. Please?”

Temari paused and thought to herself before nodding. “Okay, when we get there you can decide what to do. Follow me.” He watched her grab a small bag tucking it into her waist before following her out. They ran to the very edge of the Nara clan forest to the top of the hill where they’d often spend their nights stargazing. They’d long claimed it as their spot.

He watched her carefully as she pulled from the small pouch two vials of sand and a necklace with a large silver ring. She handed him the vial with the Nara clan symbol on it. “It’s something of a tradition in Suna. Almost like a pre-engagement kind of ceremony.” The ring of the necklace opened and she carefully poured sand from her vial that had the symbol of the Kazekage family into it.

“It’s a smaller sand ceremony. I brought sand from Suna and took sand from the Nara clan forest and we are supposed to combine them, symbolizing the bringing together of two lives into one. The two sands combined symbolize everything that we have been or will become in the future.” He nodded in awe of the meaning.

Temari took his hand into hers pausing his movement. “Shika, it’s a real promise and this means a lot to me. Don’t force yourself into it.” He hated that she still seemed unsure about his feelings and hoped that he could prove it to her.

“I already told you tonight I’m committed to you and me and whatever this will become in the future. I’m never letting you go. I love you.” He poured his own sand into the necklace and in doing so, her eyes filled with tears. She then closed it and placed it around his neck.

She held onto the pendant and looked up meeting his soft deer-like eyes that she’d fallen so in love with. She whispered a few words in what he recognized as an old Suna language out loud.

“Just as these grains of sand can never be separated, we pray today that our lives together would be blended like the wind and may our love swirl around each other like the prevailing winds.” She repeated softly so he could understand, his own eyes filling with tears her forehead resting against his. 

“You carry the weight of our family and the relationship with you. When we’re married you and me along with representatives from our family will combine sand in a show of unity, some of that sand will be placed in my ring completing the ceremony and cementing our bond.” 

He pulled her into a kiss holding her tightly against him the weight of the necklace present against his chest, its meaning heavy on his heart. He couldn’t believe that he almost missed this.

“I love you so much.” He didn’t know if those words could adequately describe how much he truly loved and cared for her.

“I love you too.”

They eventually made their way back to the Nara manor and Yoshino apologized profusely for her son's idiocy. But her happiness at Temari being back home won out.

Shikamaru traced the Nara clan symbol over Temari’s heart as they laid down to sleep. He’d had a shirt made specifically for her a while back and it always filled him with a strong sense of pride to see her outfitted in his clan's clothing. She smiled sweetly at him her hand lacing with his.

“Mari..” He whispered into the dark almost in disbelief that she was there and his. But she had always been there, like a shadow. She kissed him softly and slowly pressing her weight against him as though she knew what he was thinking. Promising that she’d always be there. The sand ceremony was a very old tradition and completing it with someone was a very real and serious commitment. They were promising to build a life and family together. She had decided that night under the stars when she’d confessed to the universe how she felt about him, a life together was all she wanted. She felt that he shared that dream too but like so many other things she’d have to push him along to realizing it.

They cleared the air with Shiho. Temari had no reason to hate the girl and bore no ill will towards her. Shiho explained that she’d seen Shikamaru as a friend for a while and it was obvious to everyone that Temari had his heart. They were actually both thankful to Shiho because she served as a catalyst to reach this point.

Temari lifted Shikamaru’s hand in hers to trace the outlines of the constellations. They seemed so much brighter here in Suna than they were back in Konoha. The vast desert sky laid out before them. After everything that happened, they both wanted some time to themselves and planned a trip out to a hot spring before going to Suna. This was so that he could tell her brothers that he was formally courting their sister. She deemed it unnecessary but appreciated his willingness. When Gaara and Kankuro had seen his necklace though they knew that it was beyond something so simple.

Shikamaru laced her fingers with his to bring her hand down to place a kiss on it. Soon enough he knew she’d be wearing his ring on that hand and it only filled him with a sense of joy, happy that he was finally holding the wind in his hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for joining along with me on this one. They just make me happy. I didn't want this to turn into a cliche hate on Shiho fic (which I do actually love too), Kunoichi need to stick together.  
Also, a strong headcanon of mine is that they did some kind of sand ceremony during their wedding. Thanks again for stopping by!
> 
> *Till the next one!


End file.
